Dragon
'Dragons' 'Critical Notes' *Dragons are a race of gigantic quadrupedal reptiles that have existed in Valmasia since its creation. *Dragon kind have been at odds with humanity since the creation of Eternia, since they are unable to communicate with men. *They gain wisdom and power as they age through collected experience, with some elder dragons possessing more knowledge and intelligence than groups of the smartest humans. *They do not share a language with the civilized races of Valmasia, but can communicate amongst each other in their own language. Drakanites that are full-shifted are able to speak this language, but typical humans lack the vocal structure to pronounce many of its phonetic sounds. *They are usually suspicious of the motives of humans due to centuries of being hunted and persecuted by them. *The vast majority of dragons are highly vain, prideful and avaricious, seeking to assert their power in the world and amass as much wealth as possible - the definition of wealth, however, varies between dragons. *Most dragons worship Ryujin, with a small minority either worshiping other deities or actively detracting from Ryujin-related matters. *They can breathe fire and are close to immune to burns from fire. *Their scales cannot be pierced easily and require an especially sharp or lethal weapon to be damaged, wielded by a worthy warrior. 'Physiology' The average green-scaled dragon measures at a height of 5 metres / 15 feet on all fours, with little variation observed between most specimens. A dragon's heart and lungs are predictably very large in order to sustain such a gigantic frame, resulting in a 'puffed-up' chest that juts out considerably when compared to the proportions of similar creatures. Their stomachs are similarly rotund, containing enlarged organs and a thick layer of fat to insulate the species from the cold winds of their native habitats in and around Frostvale. A dragon's 'skin' is comprised almost entirely of extremely tough scales that cannot be pierced by a typical sword, resulting in a need for specialist equipment if one wishes to pierce a dragon's hide. The only un-scaled areas are on the dragon's back, where its spine and tail are protected by an even thicker line of rock-like plates, and the webbing of its wings, which is comprised of a weaker (but still extremely tough) skin-like membrane. A dragon's entire body is totally fireproof and scales cannot be burnt off by raw fire. A dragon's trademark dragonfire comes from a gland located next to the trachea that is capable of converting mana to raw fire and projecting it through the dragon's throat at a surprisingly rapid rate, allowing most dragons to produce their characteristic gouts of flame at almost a moment's notice - however, they are incapable of using this mana for anything other than the creation of dragonfire. Dragons, like most reptiles, are hatched from eggs and nursed by their mother until they are capable of surviving on their own. Most dragons take approximately thirty years to reach adulthood, though they are typically capable of caring for themselves after age ten, once they develop their rocky spinal armour and their wings are sizable enough to allow for short flights. Dragon hatchlings, unlike the babies of most species, are far from defenceless - dragons hatch at a height of 1 metre / 3.3 feet and are capable of utilizing dragonfire from a very early age. 'Culture' Dragons, being largely solitary and unsociable creatures, lack much of an organised culture despite their intelligence. There are three elements, however, that are common amongst the personalities of almost all dragons: pride, vanity, and lust for wealth. Some stick to the more traditional meaning of avarice and seek as much material wealth, such as relics and crowns, as they can collect. Others seek to collect a 'wealth' of knowledge, becoming wise scholars and history keepers - these specimens are often of greater intelligence than many of Valmasia's foremost thinkers put together. Still others seek wealth in the ownership of people and land, seeking to become lords of lesser species and to manipulate humans into carrying out their wishes. It is impossible to assume exactly what a dragon seeks in life, though any given individual's life philosophy is almost always based on the amassment of something. All adult dragons, regardless of their learning, are at least as intelligent as a human. Dragons tend to amass knowledge at a much faster rate than humans, leading to age becoming something of a qualifier in dragon culture - the older the specimen, the more willing younger dragons are to defer to its orders due to the assumptions amongst dragons that older individuals are smarter. This assumption is typically correct. It is worth noting that most adult dragons (and some adolescent dragons that spend enough time around humans) are capable of understanding the human common language, though not capable of speaking it due to physiological reasons. Likewise, humans cannot pronounce the draconic language that dragons (and shifted drakanites) share amongst each other. Worship of Ryujin as a prophetic figure - something of a mortal deity - is common amongst dragons, in keeping to the draconic paradigm that wisdom scales with age (Ryujin was the oldest dragon, therefore he was the smartest). Some dragons, however, detest the ancient deity for the pact he made with humanity and his creation of the drakanite race, seeing that humans have only ever repaid Ryujin's benevolent act with constant hunting and persecution of the dragon species. 'Relations With Other Species' Though typically preferring to avoid even others of the same species, dragons do tend to hold certain species and races in different regards to others. The following is a general idea of how dragons as a species would perhaps generally feel about other species and cannot account for individual differences or prejudices. '''Humans / non-Drakanite subhumans: '''Dragons regard humans and the non-drakanite subspecies with ambivalence, which typically comes across as curt indifference. They see most humans as an inferior species that they have no reason to waste their time with unless they seek something specific, and are typically aggressive towards humans who bother them. Many dragons harbor apprehension around groups of humans due to the human habit of dragon hunting. '''Drakanites: '''The majority of dragons worship Ryujin, and as such, hold more respect for his children - the drakanites - than they do for humans. To the Ryujin-abiding, drakanites represent what humans should have been - a much more powerful race that's willing to show dragons the respect that most feel they deserve. Dragons are still prone to treating drakanites with impoliteness due to their semi-human origins, and Ryujin-detracting dragons may well hate these bastard children of an unnatural union between a great dragon and a far lesser human. '''Yokai: '''Less intelligent yokai are typically just as hostile to dragons as they are to the other races, attacking them on sight out of a primitive need to feed. However, the higher yokai echelons - those who possess the ability to communicate telepathically with dragons - share some amount of solidarity with the great reptiles. After all, both dragons and yokai are mercilessly hunted by humans and usually only find allies in a certain human subspecies (for yokai, this is the Oscuri). Intelligent yokai may seek to make deals and plans with dragons, while dragons often respect Kaor and imperfect yokai on account of their vast life experience gained from extensive cannibalism. Category:Race